With 79 percent of precincts reporting, Markey — a Fort Collins businesswoman — was leading 55 percent to 44 percent.

In Weld County, considered a Musgrave stronghold, Markey built a surprisingly strong lead — a margin of 54 percent to 46 percent.

The race was considered one of the most important in the country. Democrats saw the 4th District as a key to expanding their control of Congress. Republicans, on the other hand, didn’t want to lose a seat they have held since 1972.

The race also was a bitter, divisive battle that attracted more than $3 million from special-interest groups. Congressional Quarterly ranked it among the top two congressional races in the country in terms of spending by outside organizations.

Rancor between Markey and Musgrave, who first won the district in 2002, had played out on television ads. Musgrave was portrayed as partying with lobbyists and sponsoring a bill that would have benefited her family because it lowered capital-gains taxes.

Another showed an actress portraying Markey being hooked up to a lie detector to expose her alleged lack of candor during the campaign. Musgrave has charged that Markey used her position as an aide to U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar to win government contracts for her family business.

The allegations raised during the campaign led to both sides filing criminal charges against the other with the Larimer County district attorney.

“Betsy Markey and her extremist friends from outside Colorado have clogged the airwaves, telephone lines and mailboxes of 4th District voters for months with misleading material about Marilyn,” said Musgrave spokesman Jason Thielman.

Musgrave, Thielman said, has depended on support from organizations more aligned with the average citizens of the 4th District — the Farm Bureau, Citizens Against Government Waste and the National Federation of Independent Businesses.

Markey claimed she’s been cutting into Musgrave’s traditional support base, including farmers in the district’s Eastern Plains and former military personnel.

“Marilyn Musgrave has not been strong on issues that matter the most to America’s veterans,” said Capt. Rick Duncan of the Colorado Veterans Alliance. “Betsy Markey has shown an unwavering commitment to helping Colorado veterans through her service with Sen. Salazar’s office.”

Musgrave is perhaps best known as a co-sponsor of a constitutional amendment to ban same- sex marriage.

However, she also has shown a willingness to work with Democrats on important Colorado issues, including farm subsidies and water storage, said University of Northern Colorado political science professor Steve Mazurana.

But the changing demographics of the 4th District, including the fast urbanization of Fort Collins and Greeley, may have doomed Musgrave, Mazurana said.

“The whole district seems to be shifting to more moderation and maybe even more to the Democrats,” Mazurana said.

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